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The University of New Mexico will not eliminate any sports unless the school’s regents have given the OK, officials said this week. Unlike UNM’s controversial 2017 move to drop skiing — one quickly reversed — the university says any forthcoming proposal to drop sports would have to get clearance from the Board of Regents before taking effect. Regent President Rob Doughty said Tuesday the regents and President Garnett Stokes determined that these athletic department changes should go all the way to the board, much like a tuition proposal would. Under a decision-making process outlined by UNM this week, Athletic Director Eddie Nuñez is responsible for determining which changes his financially strapped department should make to reduce spending by $1.9 million effective in 2020. It’s a challenge that will likely include cutting some of the school’s 22 varsity sports, and Nuñez’s ongoing analysis factors criteria like each sport’s budget, history, community impact and effect on Title IX gender equity obligations. Nuñez will provide his recommendations to Stokes, who will discuss them with Nuñez and any other relevant parties and then determine if she supports the decision. Stokes will then take the plan to a regents meeting, where the public can comment and the board will vote. -Jessica Dyer, Albuquerque Journal, Read More